Autodesk adds Resource Planning Views to ShotGrid
Autodesk has rolled out ShotGrid 8.30, the latest version of its production tracking and review system for VFX, animation and game development, previously known as Shotgun.
The update adds a new set of Resource Planning views to the platform, enabling studio managers to visualise the workload and remaining capacity of individual artists and entire departments.
Visualise the workload of artists or departments to spread workload more evently
Although Autodesk puts out new versions of ShotGrid – renamed from Shotgun earlier this year – roughly every month, they’re mainly bugfix releases or minor feature tweaks.
ShotGrid 8.30 is the first in some time to add a major new feature: the Resource Planning views.
They provide high-level overviews of the workloads of individual artists or entire departments, enabling studio managers to identify which are overbooked or underused.
Managers can pull up a list of tasks assigned to each artist, enabling work to be redistributed more evenly.
The overviews can be displayed in a range of formats, including Gantt charts and line graphs, with the option to colour code workloads to generate a heat map indicating over- or under-use.
Users can customise the display by selecting the data types and time range for the source data, and how ShotGrid calculates workload.
Developed based on feedback from studios like Image Engine
According to Autodesk, the new toolset was developed in collaboration with a “range of ShotGrid customers”, including visual effects facility Image Engine.
“My job revolves around resource planning, so any tool that will take out some of the manual work that we’re doing will be incredibly beneficial,” said Melissa Gray, central production manager, Image Engine.
“Every facility seems to use a different tool for resource planning, which makes it difficult for creating standards across the industry,” said Image Engine central production manager Melissa Gray.
“Having this tool in ShotGrid will help facilities and productions run more efficiently.”
Pricing and system requirements
ShotGrid is a cloud-based product, accessed either via a web browser or a desktop app, Shotgun Create, which runs on Windows 10, CentOS/RHEL 7.4 Linux and macOS 10.13+.
ShotGrid subscriptions cost $40/month, $330/year or $890 for three years.
Read an overview of the new resource planning features in ShotGrid on the product forum
Read a full list of new features in Shotgun 8.30 in the online changelog